1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an image forming apparatus configured to add an insertion sheet (slip sheet, partition sheet, etc.) at a predetermined position in a plurality of sheets on which images are formed, and further relates to a control method and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional image forming apparatus that prints an image read by a scanner on a sheet, the apparatus may have a function for inserting a blank sheet or a different type of sheet to clearly indicate a breakpoint between sheets on which images are printed. For example, an insertion sheet (slip sheet, partition sheet, etc.) can be inserted according to a user's setting.
The slip sheet is an insertion sheet that may be inserted, according to a user's setting, at a predetermined position of a printed product that includes a plurality of sheets. The slip sheet can clearly indicate a breakpoint of the printed product. For example, the slip sheet can be used as a chapter sheet on which a chapter number is printed, or can be an insertion sheet on which an image read by a scanner is printed.
On the other hand, the partition sheet is an insertion sheet that may be inserted at a predetermined setting position, such as “page-to-page (i.e., between a specific page and another page)”, “set-to-set (i.e., between a set of copies and another set of copies)”, and “job-to-job (i.e., between a specific job and another job)”, as determined by a user, to clearly indicate a breakpoint of a printed product.
As described above, the conventional image forming apparatus may allow users to set insertion of a plurality types of insertion sheets into a printed product. However, it can occur that when various setting methods are selectable for an insertion sheet, duplicative insertion sheets designated according to different methods may be added at the same insertion position in the plurality of image printed sheets. For example, if the partition sheet setting indicates insertion of a page-to-page partition sheet “between the second page and the third page” and the slip sheet setting similarly indicates insertion of a slip sheet “between the second page and the third page”, duplicative insertion sheets (i.e, a pair of a partition sheet and a slip sheet) may be added at the same insertion position.
As another example, if the partition sheet setting indicates the “set-to-set” setting and the slip sheet setting indicates insertion of a slip sheet subsequent to the final page, duplicative insertion sheets (i.e., a pair of a partition sheet and a slip sheet) may be added to the same insertion position corresponding to the breakpoint of each set of copies. Also, if the partition sheet setting indicates the “job-to-job” setting and a user designates insertion of a slip sheet at the same insertion position as the job-to-job partition sheet, duplicative insertion sheets (i.e., a pair of a partition sheet and a slip sheet) may be added at the same insertion position.
In this manner, if the setting of a slip sheet and the setting of a partition sheet are duplicative, two insertion sheets are added at the same insertion position. However, the purpose of inserting an insertion sheet (e.g., a slip sheet or a partition sheet) is to clearly indicate each breakpoint of a printed product. In this respect, only one insertion sheet may be required to indicate the breakpoint. Therefore, if two or more insertion sheets are added at the same insertion position, an output product will include one or more useless insertion sheets. To solve this problem, as discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-279150, there is a conventional method for collectively deleting the slip sheet setting for document data to be printed or enabling users to change the content of the slip sheet setting.
However, if the method for collectively deleting all of the above-described slip sheet setting is used, it can occur that a slip sheet that is not intended to be deleted (e.g., a slip sheet on which a chapter number or an image is printed) may be deleted accidentally.
Also, if the method for enabling users to change the content of the slip sheet setting is used, the users may be required to not only identify a slip sheet to be deleted, but also change the content of the setting to delete the determined slip sheet. Thus, the method may force the users to perform relatively complicated settings.